


About Damn Time

by Inell



Series: 2017 Prompt Challenge [20]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Erica Reyes, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, Getting Together, Male-Female Friendship, Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-09-18 20:39:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9402053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inell/pseuds/Inell
Summary: Stiles tries to find out why Erica's upset





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cobrilee (bstevens1021)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Cobrilee+%28bstevens1021%29).



> cobrilee: You've been pouting ever since I went out on that date, what's up? for Stiles/Erica
> 
> Happy belated birthday, bb! This is gift one of two! I hope you enjoy! Fic #20 for my 2017 Prompt Challenge

 

 

"You’ve been pouting ever since I went out on that date, what’s up?”

“Nothing.” Erica glares at him before looking back at her nails. She’s painting them a pretty shade of turquoise, and Stiles watches her for a moment before he realizes she’s actually _not_ going to tell him what’s wrong.

“That’s not ‘nothing’,” Stiles points out, stretching his leg so he can poke her with his toes. He feels relatively safe doing that at the moment because she’s not going to ruin her nails by clawing his foot. Hopefully. "Talk to me, Catwoman.”

“I don’t like that guy.” Erica shrugs a shoulder before pursing her lips and blowing on her nails. “He smells bad.”

“Like bad supernatural demon bad or just bad needs deodorant bad?” Stiles watches her lips twitch slightly but she refuses to give him a smile because she’s upset about something. It’s frustrating because he doesn’t know what to even apologize for this time.

“Just bad.” Erica hmphs and gives him another glare. “Worse than that Bee chick from last month.”

“Beatrice didn’t stink. She was a perfectly harmless human with a fondness for crochet and politics that completely contradicted my own ideology.” Stiles digs his toes into her leg. “Hence the reason we only had one date that ended before dessert.”

“Trust you to go out with a _Trump_ supporter just because she had nice tits,” she mutters, shifting so that she dig her elbow into the top of his foot.

“Well, it’s not like she gave off an ‘I’m a racist bitch’ vibes when we met in Comp II.” Stiles cringes because she’s really smooshing his foot with her elbow, but he’s too damn stubborn to pull it back now. “If she had, I’d never have accepted the offer for dinner. Karl didn’t vote for Trump, though. I asked him before we were seated.”

“You’re not some ugly loser, Stiles. You should have standards instead of just accepting every date that you’re asked on.” She looks up at him and frowns. “None of them are right for you, and you know it.”

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t waste my time going out with them.” Stiles carefully eases his foot back when she straightens up and focuses on painting the nails on her other hand. “I’m old enough that I’m tired of the one night stands and casual hookups. I’m looking for a real relationship, Erica. That requires dating in order to try finding someone that fits.”

“You’re such a fucking idiot,” she says, giving him an annoyed look before she focuses on the nails she’s painting. “I’m tired of you whining about some perfect partner because perfect doesn’t really exist. You need to find someone who likes you for you, all of you, even the annoying as hell qualities like the constant chatter and arguments over superheroes that are truly inferior yet you can’t acknowledge simple facts about and who can appreciate the way your eyes light up when you smile and the way your lips curve up, just a little, when you’re really happy and content.”

Stiles blinks and takes in everything Erica’s just snapped at him. “Iron Man is _not_ better than Captain America.”

“Seriously?” Erica glares at him, eyes flashing yellow for a moment before she regains control of her emotions. Stiles just stares because that slip confirms the outrageous theory he’s been putting together since her outburst. “Maybe that Karl guy does deserve you, asshole.”

“No, he doesn’t because he didn’t even have a clue who Luke Skywalker is,” Stiles admits, watching her face as she sneaks a look at him but then turns away when she realizes he’s staring. “Any future partner of mine has to be aware of the basics of Star Wars, at least.”

“Maybe I need to start a pre-date question and answer session with potential partners,” Erica suggests, lips curling into a wicked smile. “If they make it through me, they _might_ be worthy of you.”

“Somehow, I think I’d be spending all of my nights alone if you had your way.” Stiles looks into her eyes and arches a brow. “Am I wrong?”

“It’s not my fault you have bad taste, Batman.” Erica shrugs and applies another layer of polish to her fingernail. “I’m starting to rethink your name, you know? I think Daredevil is more accurate since you’re so fucking blind to what’s right in front of you.”

“ _You’re_ right in front of me, Erica.” Stiles swings his legs off the sofa and scoots closer to her, watching her face flush as she avoids his gaze. He can’t remember the last time he’s seen Erica blush. Probably prom when he danced with her and did one of those dips backwards that caught her by surprise. They’d had a moment then, an almost kiss, a maybe that never happened, and she’d definitely had pink cheeks before Danny and Isaac had cut in, Danny spinning him away as the moment was lost.

“You know what I mean,” she mutters, blowing on her nails to help them dry faster.

“I think I’m starting to,” he whispers, not entirely sure if he’s right or if he’s mixing up signals. He’s got a lot of female friends, all hot and smart and geeky in the best ways, and he’s got little crushes on all of them because they’re awesome. But it’s not a sexy kind of crush because he totally supports male-female platonic relationships, and he’s not going to be _that guy_ who just uses friendships to try to score. But he’d be lying if he said he’d never wondered about Erica, thought about the ‘what if’ before she got bitten, wished sometimes that he’d been aware enough to realize someone as great as she is had a crush on him before the world turned monster-filled.

“Stop staring at me. It’s creepy,” Erica huffs before she gives him a contemplative look. “Give me your hand. This is totally your color.”

“Isn’t creepy.” He holds his hand out as requested and waggles his fingers at her. “Blue is definitely my color.”

“It is _so_ creepy,” she says, rolling her eyes as she shifts on the sofa so she’s facing him. She stares at his fingers for a moment too long to be innocent, and he looks at her lips, watching her drag the bottom one into her mouth before she seems to snap herself out of it. “Red would probably look better, but I don’t have any on me right now. So turquoise it is.”

“You like it when people stare at you,” he reminds her. “You get off on it, that whole femme fatale persona you created after getting bitten.”

“You aren’t people.” She grips his hand in hers and begins dragging the brush across his nail, painting it a vivid shade of blue. “And what do you mean persona? You saying I’m not a bombshell, Batman?”

“Never, Catwoman.” Stiles leans in a little closer, watching her nostrils flare and feeling her hand tremble just a little when his knee touches her leg. “You’re definitely a bombshell. But there’s also a persona because we both know you’re the most comfortable in a pair of sweats and t-shirt, not the miniskirts and cleavage baring tops. We both know you’re a sassy bitch with a soft side who geeks out over superheroes and Lord of the Rings marathons.”

“Call me a bitch again, and I’ll stab you with my claws,” Erica says sweetly, eyes flickering up to meet his. “The correct term is strong, capable, independent woman.”

“You know what I meant,” he mutters, glancing down to watch the brush move across his nail,. The blue looks good. “Anyway, the point is, I was looking in appreciation, not creeping on you.”

“Appreciation, huh?” She snorts. “Sounds like a fancy word for creeping.” Her lips curve into a little smile, one that indicates she’s really pleased with herself for the comeback, and he can’t really resist it any longer. 

He leans forward, reaching out with the hand she’s not holding to grip her chin. Her eyes widen and her lips part, but she doesn’t shove him away or threaten him, so he gulps before pressing his mouth against hers.

It’s an innocent kiss, sweet and gentle, and he pulls back to stare into her eyes. “I’m not so blind anymore, Catwoman.”

“It’s about damn time, Batman,” she says before dropping the bottle of nail polish on the floor and pulling him closer for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr](http://inell.tumblr.com)


End file.
